


Please don’t make me go back

by TickingClockwork



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Angry Sven, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Toppat dave, burt gets yelled at, dave has trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28380825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TickingClockwork/pseuds/TickingClockwork
Summary: Dave swore he would never go by the brig again, so when Sven gets reports that there’s an issue regarding Dave and the brig, he knows something must be wrong
Relationships: Dave Panpa/Sven Svensson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Please don’t make me go back

Sven looked up from his paperwork as he heard the intercom buzz to life. The voice of the head of communications, Burt Curtis, rang through the airship.

“Uhhh we need Chief Svensson down in the brig? There’s an issue with the.. new recruit”

After years of serving as third in command under Reginald Copperbottom, Sven had been promoted to chief due to the sudden disappearance of both the previous chief and his right hand. It was a lot of hard work but he had to admit there were certainly upsides to being leader of the Toppat clan. 

The toppats had been keeping a man named Dave Panpa unfairly locked up for quite some time now. During his time imprisoned in the airship’s brig, Sven and Dave had become rather close friends. Dave was a good listener. He treated Sven with respect and kindness. Sven cared for him dearly. The least he could do when he was promoted to chief was set Dave free. 

For the past few weeks Dave had been an official member of the toppats. Sven was even considering promoting him to right hand once he had more experience in the clan. Dave seemed to adapt quickly to Toppat life. There had been no issues. Not until now.

Sven swiftly left his office and raced down to the brig. Dave had made it incredibly clear he never wanted to go down there again. If Dave was at the brig, there must be something very wrong. 

However, Before Sven even got there, Burt stopped him in the hall.

“Hey uh.. so Yknow that new recruit? The old prisoner? Yeah well. According to Carol he walked passed the brig and like.. totally freaked out. He’s just been curled up right outside the brig for like.. 10 minutes.. he kept asking to see you. Carol told him you were busy but I figured it would be best to call you... down here...” Burt shrunk into himself as he talked, seeing the chief’s expression turn from concerned to furious in a matter of seconds.

Sven felt his blood practically boil. Dave was apparently having some sort of traumatic episode and no one thought to inform him? 10 whole minutes Dave had been asking for Sven and someone had the Nerve to deny him?

“How long did you know about this?! A member of my own clan needing my attention and I was completely uninformed! This is ridiculous I-“ Sven began a passionate rant. He should have been grateful to Burt for being the one to tell him, but the idea of Dave being hurt had stressed him to the point of breaking. Burt stood awkwardly and took the verbal beating. He knew it wasn’t directed at him, but it still stung a bit.

“Well uh- he’s still in there..” Burt motioned behind him, making sure to wait for Sven to finally take a breath before speaking. Sven hated being cut off while he was talking.

Sven, as if snapping out of a trance, was quickly drained of anger at the reminder of the ex-prisoner. Dave needed him. Now wasn’t the time to rant.

“O-oh of course I-“ Sven pushed passed Burt, stopping for only a moment to turn to him.

“I- uh... thank you.” He stammered, embarrassed that he had gotten so heated. It wasn’t Burt’s fault. Without waiting for a response, Sven sped off towards the brig.

Sure enough, right outside the brig Dave was on the floor, pressed to the wall. His breathing was quick and heavy. Tears were streaming down his face. Carol seemed to be attempting to talk him down, but to no effect. Sven quickly made his presence known to her.

“Leave.” Sven’s voice was filled with venom. Carol, however, didn’t react. She simply nodded to the chief and left. As soon as she was gone, Sven quickly knelt down in front of Dave, taking note of his tear stained face, his bruised hands, the unnervingly quick rise and fall of his chest. Sven knew a panic attack when he saw one. He hovered his hand right above Dave’s shoulder, as if asking permission to touch him. This was the first time he had to comfort Dave without a cell door separating them. He didn’t know if physical contact would make things better or worse. 

Luckily Sven didn’t have to worry about that for long. The moment Dave processed who was standing in front of him, he dove into Sven’s arms; wrapping himself around Sven’s neck and holding on for dear life.

It took Sven a second to react to the sudden contact. Stunned and worried, he very gently placed his hand on Dave’s back, jumping a bit when he heard a loud sob.

“SVEN- P- please- Sven- Don’t- don’t make me go back-“ Dave sobbed into Sven’s shoulder, tightening his grip around him. Sven held onto Dave a bit tighter in response.

“It- it was so- so dark- and- and cold and- so lonely- I was so lonely- Sven- please don’t make me go back-“ Dave’s words were cut off by sobs. Sven sat down on the ground, pulling Dave into his lap.

This was worse than Sven had thought. The brig must have really messed him up. 

“I-“ Sven started and then stopped. He couldn’t just go off on a tangent this time. He had to word this right. 

“You don’t have to be scared of the brig. I promise you aren’t going in that cell ever again.” Sven’s tone was a lot softer than usual. His thick and familiar accent bringing Dave comfort. 

“I was- I was in there for so long- I was so lonely, Sven-“ the sobs died down, Dave now whispering into Sven’s shoulder. His whole body was shaking. Once again he repeated his plea

“Please don’t make me go back”

“I won’t make you go back. I won’t. I promise.” Sven gently rocked back and forth, holding Dave in his arms. 

“I tried- I tried forgetting- I- when I walked by That Place it- it all came back- I-“ Dave’s breath hitched. He struggled to continue. 

“I got scared and- toppats surrounded me- it- it was just like when they took me- I thought they were going to- I thought- I-“ the sobs picked up again. Sven could feel tears soak through his suit.

“I was so scared, Sven”

Sven knew that the brig had a bad effect on Dave. But this was the first time he had actually seen it since Dave’s release. He was terrified. It broke Sven’s heart to see. 

“I’m so sorry, Dave” Sven whispered. He was so glad that Dave was out of that horrible place. So glad that he could hold Dave like this. 

For a moment they sat in silence, Dave’s sobs and the creaking of the airship were the only sounds filling the room. Both of them clung tightly to each other, not daring to let go. 

Eventually Dave’s sobs died down before stopping completely. His grip on the Toppat chief loosening as his body went slack against Sven. His quick breathing slowing to a steady rise and fall. Dave, completely drained after such a panic and surrounded by the warmth of his friend’s body, had fallen asleep in Sven’s arms.

Sven smiled to himself. Glad that Dave was finally at peace. He struggled a bit to pick Dave up and stand- though not as much as he expected. Dave was concerningly light. Sven made a mental note to do something about that later as he carried Dave far away from the brig.

Dave’s room was on the other side of the airship. Purposely as far away from the brig as possible. It would be a pain to carry him all the way there, especially when Sven’s own room was so much closer. So Sven carried him there instead. 

After carefully tucking Dave into his own bed, Sven sat beside him, gently ruffling his hair. He hated seeing Dave in pain. But he didn’t know how to help. He wished he had all the answers to fix Dave’s problems but he didn’t. If only he could make all the pain go away.. 

Sven suddenly found it hard to focus on his worries, all of his attention going to the sleeping ex-prisoner. He looked so peaceful, even with his face still wet with tears. He was.. beautiful. Dave began to lightly stir in his sleep

“Mmn... Sven...” Dave reached over to find Sven’s arm and clung to it. Sven felt his face heat up and bit as he smiled down at the sleeping man. Maybe he didn’t know how to make all the bad stuff go away for good. But Dave was here. Safe and free. And that was all that mattered right now.

**Author's Note:**

> Two PanSon fics posted in one night! I’m on a roll. As always I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing, kind comments mean the world to me, and I love you all 💚


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